Sometimes a burger from the booth, sometimes a ready meal from the supermarket – a single person rarely cooks himself. It’s not worth it for one person. It’s really easy and much healthier.
When you come home in the evening after a long day at work, you usually only want one thing: put your feet up and relax. If it weren’t for the hunger. People then like to reach for quick dishes such as frozen pizza or cheese bread. The widespread assumption: Cooking fresh is not worth it, especially not just for yourself. Or does it?
The ecotrophologist and author Dagmar von Cramm is convinced: yes! Cooking fresh is not only healthy, it is also cheaper than ready-made products or eating out and does not have to take long. It’s all just a matter of planning.
“It’s best to take a little time at the weekend and plan, that makes it easier to have a healthy single diet in general,” she says. Preparation is also the credo of cookbook author Margit Proebst. Her tip: prepare the ingredients for the evening in the morning, so you don’t have to look for them when you’re exhausted from work.
Von Cramm recommends swelling side dishes such as couscous or pearl barley for single recipes. While they are cooking, you can prepare other ingredients, such as vegetables. Vegetables in small units are ideal, such as loose spinach or string beans, but also broccoli with its individual florets, or frozen vegetables that can be poured and quickly thawed in small portions. Fish and meat can also be bought fresh from the counter in portions.
In order not to stand hungry in the supermarket, Proebst advises to stock up. In addition to dry goods such as pasta and rice, it is always worth having a pot of herbs, nuts, seeds or pickled olives and tomatoes ready. “Ingredients that you can use to spice up simple dishes quickly,” explains Proebst. For TV chef and cookbook author Christian Henze, sweet chili sauce, soy sauce and tandoori paste should not be missing in any pantry.
Henze’s series “After-work quick recipes”, in which “After-work quick recipes veggie” has recently appeared, combines recipes that can be prepared with a maximum of five ingredients in under 10 minutes in some cases. However, so-called “basic ingredients from stock” such as oil, salt, flour and other basic foods are always required. The recipes are designed for two people, but the quantities can easily be halved to make a one-person meal. One of his “Express” recipes is here:
Marinated parmesan with caramelized cherry tomatoes
Preparation: First, break the Parmesan into large pieces and halve the cherry tomatoes. Heat some olive oil in the pan, add the tomatoes, pine nuts and half a finely chopped garlic clove, sprinkle with salt and sugar and sauté briefly so that it caramelizes. Deglaze with dark balsamic vinegar, add the Parmesan and the basil leaves, season with pepper and toss everything briefly in the pan until the cheese starts to melt. Henze recommends ciabatta with it.
Pan frying is the easiest and quickest way to prepare it, explains von Cramm. As with classic “street food”, small quantities can be prepared à la minute.
The single diet is also stress-free with the help of meal prep, the pre-cooking and storage of meals: simply cook a dish for several portions and eat it for the next few days or freeze it. But beware, Proebst warns against pre-cooking large amounts, especially when you’re hungry, as this can easily tempt you to overeat instead of saving portions.
However, once the dish is frozen – preferably in portion size, flat in a freezer bag – it can be warmed up in the microwave. “Every kitchen needs a microwave to heat things up,” advises Henze. In addition, you keep the energy consumption low with the microwave and also save money.
For example, if you crave cabbage or pumpkin, i.e. ingredients that cannot be easily used up in a one-person meal, you should think in advance about the different dishes that can be prepared with them. For example, cauliflower can be processed into a soup, a salad or a curry.
Cauliflower Curry
Preparation: First, finely chop the garlic, ginger and onion and heat in a pan with a little neutral oil for two minutes. Then add the cauliflower florets and curry powder and fry for a minute. Deglaze with 2 tablespoons of water and simmer, covered, over low heat for 10 minutes. Then add the unthawed peas and cream, cover and cook over low heat for another five minutes and season with salt and pepper. This goes well with basmati rice, which is cooked at the same time.
In addition to classics such as Wiener schnitzel and potatoes with green sauce, the recipes in the book also include light dishes such as minestrone or Greek salad. Salad in particular can be eaten with every meal – cleaned and the dressing prepared in a jar.
With a little planning, the right ingredients and cooking methods, cooking fresh is not complex and time-consuming. Nevertheless, whether for oneself or the family, it is not for everyone. Proebst is relaxed: “Cooking is not the same for everyone, sometimes a finished product is ok, but it should be possible to cook fresh a few times a week and it makes sense.” Your health and wallet will thank you for it.
